New York City Football Club goalkeeper Sean Johnson enjoyed a standout performance for the United States Men's National Team on Sunday during a friendly against Uruguay.
The USMNT recorded a 0-0 tie at Children's Mercy Park, with Johnson producing several fantastic saves to preserve the team's clean sheet. Speaking afterward, head coach Gregg Berhalter singled out the 33-year-old for praise.
“Sean Johnson in goal, who has been really asking for a difficult opportunity or a challenging game, and he got his game and he responded,” said Berhalter. “I thought he played an excellent game.”
Johnson made his debut for the national team in 2011 against Chile and to date has collected ten caps for his country. Sunday's performance also saw him awarded Player of the Match and confirmed a fifth credited clean sheet while playing with the USMNT - the last goal he conceded for his country coming during his debut.
An MLS Cup MVP with NYCFC, Johnson is currently on a run of seven consecutive clean sheets across Club and international play, with the Georgia native last conceding on April 24, against Toronto FC.
“It’s great to get the opportunity and to take advantage of it. A clean sheet’s always nice,” Johnson told MLSsoccer.com after the match. “But ultimately, against a good opponent that's going to be competing in a World Cup in Uruguay, I couldn't ask for a better opportunity to step out and perform.
“I’ve been waiting some time for this opportunity,” said Johnson. “But I did the best job I could to prepare every single week at my club and then coming in, the transition was easy. The guys in front of me made the job a lot easier today, so I was happy to contribute to the performance and yeah, we’ll always take a clean sheet.”
Everyone at the Club would like to congratulate Sean on the award and his success with the USMNT. The team's next game is on Friday in the Concacaf Nations League as they take on Grenada.
